“Did I stutter?” He takes a few steps across the room in my direction. “You’re not leaving until this is over.”
“That sounded an awful lot like an order.”
“Probably because it was one.”
My mouth falls open. “Are you fracking kidding me?”
I admit, I may be a bit cranky, what with the lack of sleep and the near death experience and the coitus interruptus just before the Big O finally made her debut… So, there’s a chance I’m more irritable than usual.
Whatever. He still shouldn’t boss me around like I’m seven years old.
His eyes narrow. “I told you not to go out with O’Pry. You didn’t listen. You never listen.” His voice gets low, lethal. “This time, you’re going to listen, West, even if I have to handcuff you to my fucking bed.”
“Hot,” Lila whispers under her breath.
“Seriously,” Gemma agrees.
I ignore them.
Huh. Turns out we still want to rip each other’s heads off, after all…
“You can’t keep me here like some kind of prisoner.” I scoff. “I have a life. A house. A dog. A job.” I rise to my feet. “I’m not staying here.”
He smirks. “You’re not leaving.”
“You can’t tell me what to do!” I whirl around and pin my friends with a look. “Come on. We’re going.”
Gemma blanches. “Phee, I really don’t think—”
I glare at her and the words die in her throat. My gaze shifts to Lila. She’s inspecting her cuticles, looking bored.
“Lila!” I snap.
“Mmmm?”
“Get up and come with me.”
“Why?”
My voice lowers. “It’s much more effective if I storm out of here with a posse.”
I hear a muffled chuckle from Chase. When my glare swivels in his direction, he adopts an innocent expression.
“Don’t look at me,” he says, holding up his hands. “I’ve got nothing to do with this.”
“I was just kidnapped,” I point out. “You guys are supposed to be catering to my every whim.”
“Really?” Lila’s nose wrinkles.
“I don’t think that’s a rule,” Gemma adds, voice speculative. “It wasn’t in the guidelines of Operation SPANK.”
“Nope,” Lila agrees. “Sure wasn’t.”
I shoot them my iciest glare. Neither seems to be affected.
“Operation SPANK?” Nate asks, full of curiosity.
“I think what Lila and Gemma are trying to say is…” Chase’s green eyes are steady on mine. “We just want you to be safe, Phoebe. And you’re safest here. There’s video surveillance at all the doors and windows. State of the art tech.” His eyes soften. “As long as those men are out there, you’re a target.”
Damn. Why does he have to be so kind and chivalrous and logical?
I look at Gemma. “How do you win any arguments, with this guy?”
She shakes her head miserably. “I don’t.”
Chase grins. It’s a good grin. I know right then, I’m not going to get my way.
“Fine.” I collapse back onto the sofa with a huff. “I’ll stay. But I won’t be happy about it.”
Chase buries a laugh beneath a cough. Lila giggles outright. Gemma lays her head on my shoulder. When I catch Nate’s eyes, they’re crinkled up in amusement.
Bastard.
If I didn’t love him so much, I’d hate him.
Chapter Seventeen
People say God only gives us as much as we can handle.
I say, his holiness thought spiders were a good idea.
Point me toward a different authority.
Phoebe West, contemplating a higher power.
I can’t sleep.
I know it’s been days since I properly rested and my wounds need time to heal, yada yada yada, but it’s the middle of the day and no matter how tight I pull the light-blocking curtains, my body isn’t fooled. Plus, it doesn’t help that whenever I so much as look at Nate’s bed, memories of what we almost did there start playing in my mind like a movie. An X-rated, slow motion movie.